Front draft ittg



Aug. 25, 1925. 1,551,353

' A. H. WESTON FRONT DRAFT LUG "Filed Feb. 20, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 25, 1925. 1,551,353

. Y A. H. WESTON Filed Feb. 20, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet L,

ing a solid rearward projection Patented Aug. 25, 1925. a

UNITI-:p STATES ,PATENT oFFlcE.

ARTHUR H. WESTON, 0F RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNR, DY DIREGT AND IESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0 CAB DEVICES COMPANY, INGOBPURATED, 0F BIGHHOND, VIR- GINIA, A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA..

FRONT DRAFT LUG.

Application illed February 20,1925. Serial No. 10,017.

To all whom. it may' concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR I-I. WESTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and State of Virginia, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Front Draft of the coupler by means ofv a transverse'key, front and rear stop lugs are emplo ed. The `present invention replaces the ront stop glshe invention consists of airs of lugs, provided with longitudinal s ots, each lug preferably of integral or unitary construction, and ada ted to be applied onthe inner adjacent sur aces of the constituent members of the center sill and "k'partly within slots in the webs of such centexsill members, and having inwardly and outwardly extending ribs flanking the sides and nner end of the slot in the lug and forming ,arings for the transverse key, saidlribsbein extended inwardly and rearwardly in a` p E ne offset from the body or plate of the lug d form- *e `ond said body or plate, and an abutment fertile front follower or draft gear as I will proceed now to explain and iinaily claim. "ii

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, 1n the severa fi u of 'which like parts are similarly' designated, Figure 1 is a top-plan view,"partl in horizontal section, on the line 1-1 of ig. 2, illustrating enough of the centersill and adjacent parts to show the application. of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a side 'eleg vation with the end sill in cross-section.

Fig-.3 is a 1perspective view 'of one of the front draft u s detached. Fig. 4 is a plan lview of said ug; Fig. 5 is an edge view,

and Fig. 6 is an end view developed from Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a cross-section of one of the members of the center sill, showing the front draft lug in place, and also showing, but in dotted lines, a part of the transverse abutment for the be described, by way of illustration, in connection with a center sill made up of -two metal channel beams, set with their webs upright and in arallelism and spaced apart suiiiciently to a mit the draft gear.

The channel beams, as shown in detail in `-Fig. 7, have the bottom flanges 1, top

flanges 2, and webs 3, all of any usual or approved construction, and have their webs `slotted longitudinally, as indicated at 4, to

permit the ribs of the draft lugs, hereinafter particularl described, to extend through and bey'on the said webs.

5 is the outer portion of an ordinary yoke,

6 is the shank of the coupler 7 is the Vstriking plate, and 8 is the draw-bar carrier, all of ordinary or approved construction.

The invention herein is not limited to these details, and is adaptable to other constructions.

The front draft lug of this invention comprises a plate 9, having the side shown uppermost m Fig. 3 as a substantially flat surace, but provided with the lon itudinal ribs 10, parallel with an interme iate slot 11, and surrounding the inner end of said slot, so that the lug may be fitted 'fiat and snug against the inside surface of the web of the center sill, with the ribs extending through the slot 4, and saidribs projecting outside of the web.` These ribs are extended at 12 beyond the end of the lug, and such extension enters the slot in the web, thereb serving to aline the parts and 'transmit strains to the center sill. The lug is provided with the transverse projection 13 on the opposite or inner side, so as to form an front follower. This projection or abutment 13 preferably is reinforced by the inclined ribs 15, and there are similar ribs 16 at the longitudinal edges of the lug which extend back to and reinforce the abutment 13. 4

The plate 9 extends not only laterally beyond the slot and its ribs 10, but also extends forwardly at 17 so as to completel overlie the slot in the web of the center sil The front draft lug may be secured to the web of the center sill by any suitable means, preferably rivets 18, applied through the series of holes 19.

The front draft lug may be convenientl made as a singleunitary casting, and pre erably of steel.

As already indicated, one of these lugs is secured to each of the center sill members on the inner side thereof, and when the coupler and yoke are placed in position between them, they are secured by means of any suitable transverse key 20, preferably headed at 21 on one end and provided with a hole 22 at the other end to receive a Cotter-pin or other fastening means. The slots 11 in the lugs are made sufliciently large to allow for necessar motion of the draft gear, and so that in uliing the transverse key will abut against the extended surfaces of the lugs, the strain being taken off of the rivets practically by the solid or unslotted rearward extension 12.

As already sufficiently indicated, the front draft lug of this invention is intended to take the place of the front draft lugs heretofore used, same being a component part of all draft arrangements, inclusive of ver-` tical plane yoke and friction draft gear.

In the handling of freight cars, both in heavy tonnage trains and in freight classification yards, the cars are subjected to end shocks which are frequently very much in excess of the cushioning capacit-y of friction draft ears, and as a result, the draft gears are su ject to damage after they have ceased to function as-a cushion and must act as a solid column.

A main purpose of the present invention isto have the lu s function as a limiting stop to the inwar travel of the transverse or coupler key and coupler, the construction at the rear end supplying the needed strength to permit the lugs to act as an abutment for said key. In the case of friction draft ears having an extreme travel of two and tEree-quarters inches, the slots in the draft lugs would v, be made of such a length as to bring the key intocontact with the rear end of the slots' when the draft gear had exhausted its travel and had then ceased to act as a cushion. Thereafter the force would be transmitted through the key to the draft lugs and center sills, thus furnishing protection to the draft gear from over-solid blows. `The rearwardly projecting portions 12 of the draft lugs contacting with the webs of the" center sills at their rear ends, the force will be resisted not only by the rivets b which the lugs are secured in place, but a so by the webs of the center sills. As draft lugs are now constructed, there is not suiiicient strength at the rear end to permit contact of the transverse key with the rear ends ofthe slots, and it is common practice to have half an inch clearance between the key and the rear end of the slot, when the draft gear has been compressed solid.

Another advantage of the lugs of this invention is that becauseof the extension of the ribs 10 through and beyond the outer face of the center sill members, a wider support and a greater bearing area are provided for the transverse key.

The standard draft gear pocket in order to accommodate friction draft gears of the ermitted maximum length and width, must` e kept clear of all projections inside and between the center sill members when the vertical plane yoke is used. For this reason the inner face of the extension 12 after application is flush with the inner face of the `web of the center sill, because the inner face of this extension is in the same plane as that surface of the plate which contacts with the web of the sill while the body of the extension is within the sill slot. -The extension 12 is longer than the maximum length of movement of the draft gear, so that should the relative thicknesses of the extension and the web of the sill or any other contingency involve a slight rojection of the extension into this oc et, it would be im ossible for Athe fo lower or front end of t e draft gear to strike or foul the inner end of the extension in returning to normal position.

Variations in the details of construction are permissible within the princi le of the invention and the scope of the c aims following.

What I claim is 1. A front draft lug, comprising a plate Aadapted to be applied to the inner side of a center sill and provided with a longitudinal slot flanked at both sides and one end by ribs and of a length sufficient to limit the inward travel of the transverse key, said ribs adapted to be set in a slot in the center silland extend outwardly therefrom, and a rear extension of said ribs offset from the vertical plane of the plate and projectin rearwardly be ondthe plate to enter sai sill slot and lil it Hush on the inside. v

2. .A front draft lug, comprising a plate adapted to be applied to the inner side of a center sill ,and provided with a longitudinal slotianked by ribs at both sides andone end, said slot of a length suicientto limit the inward travel of the transverse ke and said ribs adapted to be set` in' a slot m the center sill to project outwardlythrough the slot in the sill, and said ribs extending longitudinally beyond the rear end of the plate and oil'setfrom the vertical plane of the plate and set in the center sill slot and abutting its rear end.

3. A front `draft lug, comprising a plate adapted to be-applied to the inner side of a center sill and provided Vwith a longitudinal slot flanked by ribs at both sides and extending around one end, said slot of a `length sufficient to limit the inward travel of the transverse key, said ribs extendin outwardly through a slot in the center sil a rear extension offset from the vel-tica slot and flush with the inner surface of the sill, and a transverse projection on the oppositeside of the plate and at its rear end and adapted to serve as an abutment for the front follower or the draft gear.

4. The combination with center sill members provided with longitudinal slots, of

front draft lugs slotted lbnglitudinally and provided with ribs flanking t e sides and inner ends of the slots in the lugs, said ribs extending solidl beyond the rear ends of the plates, the ribs and the extension fitted in the slots in the center sill members, and the lugs .fixedly secured to the center sill members on the inner side thereof.

5. The combination with center sill members provided with longitudinal slots, of`

front draft lugs slotted longitudinally and provided with ribs Banking the sides and lnner ends of the slots in the lugs, said ribs extending solidl beyond the rear ends of the plates, the rlbs and the extension fitted in the slots in the center sill members, and the said lugs having portions extending on both longitudinal sides of the slots in the lugs and also yforwardly of said slots and these extensions arranged in contact with the inner surfaces of the centervsill members and riveted to said members.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set 30 ARTHUR H. WESTON.

slot and flush with the inner surface of the sill, and a transverse projection on the opposite side of the plate and at its rear end and adapted to serve as an abutment for the front follower or the draft gear.

4. The combination with center sill members provided with longitudinal slots, of

front draft lugs slotted lonitudinally and provided with ribs flanking the sides and inner ends of the slots in the lugs, said ribs extending solidly beyond the rear ends of the plates, the ribs and the extension fitted in the slots in the center sill members, and the lugs iixedly secured to the center sill members on the inner side thereof.

5. The combination with center sill members provided with longitudinal slots, of

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set 80 my hand this 19th day; of February, A. D. 1925.

ARTHUR H. WESTON.

Certificate or Correction.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,551,353, grantedAug'ust 25, 1925, upon the ap lication of Arthur H. Weston, of Richmond, Virginia, for an improvement in re uiring correction as beore the periodV insert should be read with this correction record of the case in the Patent Office.

ront Draft Luge, an erro-r appears follows: Page l, 1in the reference numela therein that the ,same may conform to in the printed specification e 93, after the word follower .and l 14,' and that the said Letters Patent the signed and Sealed this 17th day of November, A. D. 1925. l

WM. A. KINNAN, Acting own-missione?I of Patents.

Certificate of Correction.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,551,353, granted Aug-ust 25, 1925, upon the ap lication of Arthur H. Weston, of Richmond, Virginia, for an improvement in ront Draft Lugs, an error appears in the printed specification reuiring correction as follows: Page 1, line 93, after the word follower `and be ore the periodV insert the reference numeral I4,- and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the Vsame may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oiice. l

Signed and sealed this 17th day of November, A. I). 1925.

"[smlxn] i WM. A. KINNAN,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

